The Way Things Can Change
by Jazzyfquin
Summary: When everything in your life has changed and you have no hope left is when things change the best. Santana Lopez is a foster child who has recently been moved to an orphanage in Lima, Ohio. Will things change for the better or will everything be ruined forever? Summary sucks, I know. First story I've had on here.
1. Prologue

**A/N: So this is my first story on here ever and I need to work on my writing, I know. Please bear with me though. I'm only a teenager who has a lot of work to do on her writing, but I really want to get better at it. Please give me a chance and I'll prove it'll be worth it.**

Prologue

Have you ever wished that your life could be different? That things could be different and you could have whatever you wanted? Santana Lopez has. She wishes that on a daily basis. Ever since the 16 year old brunette was a kid, she wished she could have the loving parents everyone else had. Instead, she is stuck shifting from foster home to foster home, never being adopted.

Santana Lopez is a difficult person. She's not your normal teenage girl. First of all, she's a lesbian which already makes less people want her. On top of that, she is a violent person and is very stubborn. The troubled girl has moved through many different homes and she's getting tired of it.

The raven haired girl had moved to a small town in Ohio known as Lima. The orphanage she is staying at is just inside the skirts of the town and her first day at her new high school, McKinley, was the next day. As she sat on her bed in the house, having no one to talk to because she already hated everyone, she just wished that everything could be how it was 10 years ago before her dad died and her mother was sent to prison.

When Santana was a little girl, she had a mother and father, just like every other little kid in her elementary school in Colorado. With her father, Felipe, being a surgeon, their family was well financed and her mother, Maria, didn't need to have a job. They had a nice house which was close to the school so that as Santana got older, she could just walk to school, but since she was only in First grade, her mother always drove her to school and picked her up, regardless of the fact they lived literally a block away. One day when school was out, Santana was waiting to be picked up; her parents always said that no matter how late they were that she needed to wait there. After about a half hour of waiting, she went back inside the school. That's when she found out the news of her mother being in jail and her father being dead. The rest of it was a blur to the girl, but she wished she knew exactly what had happened that day. She didn't even remember how she ended up at the orphanage that night, but that's where she had lived since, in various orphanages throughout the country.

Sometime while she was pondering her thoughts, she fell asleep and when she woke up, it was to an annoying beeping. With a groan, Santana got up from the bed and strode over to her suitcase, grabbing a pair of denim shorts and a nice black tank top. Once she was changed, she ran a hand through her hair and smiled slightly at herself in the mirror. It was a strained smile, but it worked. 'Let's get this day over with' she thought before heading downstairs and riding her bike the 2 miles it took to get to the school.


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: Thank you guys for the few follows and favorites I got and the review. They mean a lot, and honestly I wasn't expecting it! Now here's Chapter 1. I'm starting to plan this story in my head a little better, so lets just hope this goes according to plan. (:**

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Chapter 1:

Santana strode into the unfamiliar building, glancing around the hallways. It was obvious that everyone knew that she was new, by the size of the town she wasn't surprised. She kept hearing whispers around her as she headed for the locker that was now hers. As she was putting stuff into the locker, she noticed the atmosphere around her shift. As she looked over her shoulder, she noted the way everyone visibly stiffened and moved her gaze over to where some tall jock was walking her way. He was carrying a white styrofoam cup that you usually drink slushies out of. The big jock stopped next and her and gave her a smirk before tossing the slushie in her face. "Welcome to McKinley, loser."

_What the fuck?_ the Latina thought as her anger deepened and she wiped the slushie out of her eyes. Even though her eyes were stinging, she threw a punch, nailing the jock in the face. Everyone was taken by surprise over the fact that this new girl had the audacity to throw a punch. Santana smirked as the guy clutched his nose and she saw anger flare in his eyes. "Don't mess with me, big guy." She stated lowly before slamming her locker and moving around him and into the ladies room.

Down the hall, the glee club stood there in surprise - all of then were shocked about the fact that anyone would do that, especially to Karofsky. Rachel Berry couldn't help but smile slightly. Finally someone stood up for themselves in this school. Moving quickly, the small diva ran into the bathroom. Besides the fact that she was obviously tough, something intrigued her about the new girl. Something about her reminded Rachel of someone she had met when she was on vacation in Colorado several years ago.

As the bathroom door shut behind the brunette, Santana looked over and quirked an eyebrow, having not expected anyone to check on her. "Can I help you?" She asked uncertainly before continuing to clean the sticky substance out of her hair.

"I, um..I was just coming to make sure you were okay." Rachel stated quietly as moved closer to the other girl slowly. "Need any help? I've had enough slushie facials to know the best ways to get it out of clothes and hair and everything." As she spoke, she bit on her lower lip and leaned against one of the sinks; Rachel had always been a lip biter.

Santana's other eyebrow raised up in surprise at the fact that this was a normal occurrence for some people. As she glanced up and down the girl, taking in her appearance and noticing all the argyle, it made sense why they chose her to pick on. "I'm fine, thanks." She mentioned before running her hands under cold water. "So let me guess, since I nailed that jackass in the face, I'll probably get more slushies to the face? And being new and all makes that worse?" The raven haired girl knew the answer to that question, but she might as well check.

Rachel watched as she ran cold water over her swelling before and chewed on her lip, contemplating the question. "You might get more slushies to the face, or you'll be worshipped," she paused slightly before shaking her head. "Well, maybe not worshipped but no one has ever stood up for themselves. Miss Sylvester might want to recruit you when she hears how the new girl threw a punch and had a jock practically crying."

As Santana listened, she nodded but only smirked at hearing how the jock was almost crying. Once she let her thoughts move away from that, she turned off the freezing water and dried off her hands. Turning, she leaned against the sink and tilted her head to look at the other girl. She did another once over, having to force herself to move her eyes away from the girls incredibly long, tan legs. They were long for someone so short but something about the short brunette was familiar. Shaking her head, she moved away from her thoughts. "So who's Miss Sylvester? Most teachers would kill their students for throwing a punch."

Rachel shrugged a shoulder, tossing the girl a small smirk before moving towards the door. She hadnt missed how the other girls gaze lingered on her legs. "This school is..well, horrible. Teachers are care-free mostly, and Miss Sylvester? One word can sum her up: evil." With that, Rachel left the bathroom, tossing the girl one last smile.

Today was already interesting.


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you guys so much for the favorites, follows, reviews, and views. It means a lot that people are enjoying this and reading it! Im not sure if I'll be able to keep up this daily uploading thing, but if I can't, I'll start writing more in my chapters, I'm sure that would be more enjoyable anyways. Well here's chapter 2. R&R, tell me suggestions, what you want to happen, or just what you think. (: **

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Chapter 2:

It was lunch time and Santana had ditched the cafeteria and was sat on the bleachers outside. It had been a chaotic day; everyone was bothering her, asking her questions about why she moved here, wondering why she punched Karofsky (apparently the jackass jock had a name). Teachers were bugging her about the conflict earlier as well. The only person that hadn't annoyed her all day so far was that short girl that talked to her in the bathroom. Now that she thought about it, she wished she had grabbed the girls name, but sadly she hadn't.

Santana ran a hand swiftly through her raven colored hair before leaning against the bleacher behind her and setting her arms down. Her gaze looked out over the vacant football field and she smiled slightly, glad she was alone. The Latina didnt enjoy a lot of attention, but it looks like inside she would just be hounded.

As she picked up her Monster and took a sip of it, she heard the doors to outside open and she huffed quietly. Looking over to where the noise came from, she was ready to tell the person off. That was until she saw an older blonde coach looking at her, studying her it seemed. "Need something?" Santana asked, her voice barely tinted with annoyance.

The coach raised an eyebrow as she pursed her lips. Something about the girl was interesting, the way she spoke to her with annoyance wasn't something she was used to. The girl was feisty and she liked it, she needed someone like her. It was no surprise that the older woman had heard about the punch, which just made her a bigger target for recruitment. "You're Santana Lopez, right?" She didn't wait for an answer before continuing. "Join the Cheerios, we need some feistiness and anger. Maybe you can scare the newbies into shape." She smirked evilly at the thought before turning and walking away before shouting back. "Tryouts after school, Lopez!" Those were the last words before Sue disappeared back inside.

Once the coach was gone, Santana rolled her eyes and drank the last little bit of her drink. She was definitely not going to join some stupid Cheerleading thing. She'd be too distracted first of all, and secondly she didn't need to get involved and then shipped off again. But at the same time, she'd always wanted to be a cheerleader. her situation really sucked sometimes. "This is all bullshit." She mumbled to herself before standing up and crushing her can in her hand.

That's when she noticed the figure at the other end of the bleachers sitting in the corner. Glancing over to the door before looking back at the girl, she began walking across the bleachers to where she was sat. "Hey, you." She said quiet-ish, leaning against the metal fence along the side.

At the words, Rachel looked up and smiled smally before writing something about history down. "Hey, Santana." As she spoke, she closed her history book and looked at the Latina.

Santana quirked her eyebrow at being addresses by her name. She cleared her throat slightly, "so you know my name now. What's yours?" She fiddled with the metal thing on the top of the monster can before tossing it in the trash as she studied the girl.

Rachel flashed her a mini version of the Rachel Berry grin. Apparently this girl hadn't heard any rumors about her, or been told to keep away from the loser. It made her feel..happy. "Rachel. Rachel Berry."

"Rachel? That's a nice name." The taller girl commented before shooting her a slight smile. "You know, you're all right. Maybe sometime we could hang out. I think we could both use a friend." Of course Santana had heard things about Rachel, but she hadn't known it was this girl.

Rachel's smile burst into a full Rachel Berry grin at the words. "Yeah, that would be nice. Maybe after school you could come over? Or after your cheerio tryout if you're doing that?" Rachel didnt want to push too much, she didn't really want to lose a potential friend.

At the mention of hanging out after school, she nodded and smiled at the girls smile. It was kind of an adorable grin. "I think that would be nice, yeah. Let me think about what I want to do though. I'm not sure if I'll enjoy the whole cheerleading thing." Santana shrugged a shoulder and flashed her a smile before retreating from the girl and moving down the bleachers. Before she went inside, she shot the girl one last glance.


	4. Chapter 3

As Santana sat in her final class of the day, she bit down on her lower lip and glanced at the clock. The time was going by slowly and they were only halfway into Study Hall. She wasn't sure if she was going to join the Cheerios; she could be shipped off again next week. The Latina sighed and leaned back in her seat, running a hand swiftly through her thick tresses. That was when she heard someone clear their throat.

Looking over, the 16-year-old noticed a boy with a Mohawk giving her a small smirk that immediately made her eyes narrow. "So I hear you're the new girl," He said quietly, "did you really nail Karofsky in the face, shove him into the lockers, telling him to fuck off and threaten him if he didn't, saying you had razor blades in your hair?" At the amazement on his face, Santana chuckled. Was that the story that was going around?

Santana quickly composed herself before shrugging a shoulder and turning to look at him fully. "Maybe. Why do you care, Mohawk boy?" It was a fitting nickname and she matched his smirk before quirking an eyebrow.

The boy huffed but smiled slightly at her; her attitude was nice and kind of a turn on but word on the street was that she played for the other team. Sad day, he thought before shaking off his thoughts. "The name's Puck. And you're Santana, the famous lesbian of McKinley. Not that there's anything wrong with that." He didn't want her to get pissed, he was trying to be friendly here.

Santana huffed and pursed her lips slightly. Was word already going around that she was gay? She wouldn't be surprised in a small town like this, but it did piss her off. As she eyed him for a minute, the Latina noticed he meant no harm and she exhaled with a huff. "So you're the famous Puckasaurus I've been hearing about. I'm Santana, but I'm sure you already know that. Listen, Puck, I need help with making a decision. And since I'm new here and you're not, I'm sure you'll have an opinion."

As Puck listened he nodded and waited for her to continue. When she didn't, the teenager fought to roll his eyes. "What do you need an opinion on? I'm sure you don't need any help scoring chicks. Or dudes or whatever."

"Cheerios. What's your opinion on them?"

He quirked an eyebrow. "Most of them were cool, but then the popularity got to their heads and they became bitches. Yeah, I'm on the football team and I'm popular, but I'm still a pretty cool dude. I mean, I nail a chick a month usually, but I'm still a gentleman and all and then they come back for more. That's gotta mean something."

She didn't really care for the little background she got from the teenage boy, but she could see that they were actually kind of alike in a way. "All right, that's all I needed to know." The raven haired girl smiled slightly at him before turning back to the work on her desk.

Her actions confused him and he frowned slightly before tilting his head. "Wait, was that it?" He asked, confusion lacing his tone.

"For now, yeah." Santana shrugged a shoulder and glanced at him. "Well, wait. Something else, too. Since you said you were kind of cool, maybe if I need a getaway, you could help with that." She knew she should be staying as far away from anyone as possible so she didn't hurt them when she randomly disappeared, but she was sick of being a loner. Her feelings were never affected when she moved although she knew her 'friends' were.

Her straight forwardness was interesting and pretty unusual for anyone in Lima but he shrugged a shoulder. "Yeah, sure. That would be cool. Maybe you could come over sometime and we could kill some zombies or something." He chuckled lightly before smiling his usual Puckerman charm smile and writing his number on the girls notebook. "Just text me when you need to come to my place or something." Before Santana had a chance to reply or to even think, the bell rang, signaling the end of the period.

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**A/N: Sorry for the wait on this, I've just been crazy busy since it's the end of summer basically. I know it's not too long and everything is just crazy and not tied down yet, but Puck definitely will be a part of the story now. Thanks for the views and follows and favorites!**


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